Picture of Sara Jean Underwood 2012

Picture of Sara Jean Underwood 2012

Like Brooklyn Decker, the inaugural winner of Esquire.com's not-at-all-objectifying search for the hottest woman of the year, she was the best sport in our bracket hysteria. Like 30 Rock's Katrina Bowden — from whom she inherits March's other tournament crown — she is, in fact, hot. But in 2012, a 28-year-old's Twitter offense can work faster than Kentucky's, and in a voting competition on the Internet, a strong nerd fanbase is king.

The most recent of distracting co-hosts on G4 TV's Attack of the Show, Underwood was nice enough to celebrate a finals victory over Kate Middleton on her home court, following in the footsteps of her Attack predecessor Alison Haislip: She immediately invited over our photographer to her apartment for a bonus round of his Me in My Place series with us. Two million votes and one day later, here is the acceptance speech. With pictures. And her cat. And maybe some glasses. —The Editors

(Music: "You're the Kind of Girl," by Lee Fields & the Expressions, from the album Faithful Man, on sale now)

At the beginning, nobody really said anything. But as it kept getting closer, everyone was kind of like, Wow, you're in the Sweet Sixteen? And then: Oh, the Elite Eight? They just didn't — they didn't have that much confidence. I think. Maybe.

(Click VIEW LARGER for more Sara, and here for more, semi-not-suitable-for-Esquire photos of her on MeInMyPlace.com)